If At First You Don't Succeed...

Try, try, and try again.

Beer is a journey rich with the innumerable sights, sounds, smells, mysteries, and wonders of life. She cannot be taken lightly, nor should she be taken too seriously. As with all personal pleasures, we are as much a factor in the enjoyment as the beer herself. Mood, time of day, ambiance, company, palate, and countless others all culminate in our impression of the beer we are imbibing at the time of imbibement.

I’ve been on my imbibing journey for about seven years now, and in terms of serious devotion, a good half of those seven. Beer is my passion-de-la-resistance, but I am far from a one drink wonder. Classic cocktails to vintage spirits, single-malt, bourbon, rum, and beyond, I revel in each of these sensual pleasures.

An open mind is a no questions asked requirement to an open palate. One cannot exist without the other if one desires any truly profound moments of supping inspiration. I have always had a proclivity towards otherness; preferring not to be put in a box and not to put others in a box. What I enjoy today in the arts, food, spirits, and beer is not what I enjoyed just a few years ago. I enjoy more, not less. Verily, I would even go so far as to say I live more, not less.

All good beer deserves a chance because if not the first time, you may fall in love with her the second or third try. No one-time-only sips allowed. Growing intimate and looking outward demands more than a cursory slip of a taste. Beer demands all of our attention, and so all of it she shall receive.

Beer is living history.
Beer is passion, inspiration, and the human dream.
Beer is beautiful and mysterious.
Beer is you, me, and the friend down the street or halfway across the world.

The proof is in my palate, and yours, as the curious mind opens to all the amazing flavor possibilities out there in the great beyond of beervana. The palate is truly limitless once set free.

I cringed at single-malts and bitters just a few years ago, and now I can’t get enough. Anise and pastis was a foreign world, but now she feels just like home. Bigfoot sent my tastebuds screaming in fear, and now he’s a fuzzy-wuzzy cuddly bear to cuddle at night. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA… We are still in mediation, but I have faith we will come to an understanding some day.

In the meantime (excellent brewery, btw) I will never stop exploring. Never stop tasting. Never stop living. And neither should you. Don’t be afraid. All journeys have their ups and downs, the spice of adventure that gives memories limitless fortune and one’s self all that richer.

I guarantee it.

(an original written work by Kristyn Lier. plagiarism is not tolerated)